


thus always to tyrants

by SoccerSarah01



Series: Prompts [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drabble Collection, Family, Ficlet Collection, Gen, I.....love them, Platonic Relationships, Rated teen for language, Siblings, also Koala and Sabo are siblings no I will not accept criticism, and Dragon is their long-suffering dad, and inazuma, and so is Kuma, anyways actual tags, ivankov is...tired, they're such a good family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27056662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoccerSarah01/pseuds/SoccerSarah01
Summary: Sometimes, you're the hero.Sometimes, you're the villian....and sometimes, you're revolutionaries, goofing off and causing lots of property damage and being dumb family when you're not, you know, overthrowing a tyrannical government.(Or: A collection of all the ficlets I've written about these dumb revolutionaries.)
Relationships: Emporio Ivankov & Monkey D. Dragon, Hack & Sabo (One Piece), Koala & Sabo & Bartholomew Kuma, Koala & Sabo (One Piece), Monkey D. Dragon & Sabo, Monkey D. Dragon & Sabo & Koala
Series: Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974703
Comments: 21
Kudos: 74





	1. dumb revolutionaries have feelings

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So I've decided to make my account marginally more organized, so I'm reorganizing my ficlets into collections that have content around the same groups of characters, and so the first few ficlets are ones you've seen before if you've read my ficlet collection. Same as the other collections, I'll update this every other day until I run out, and then we'll see what happens😂
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Koala has forgotten a lot of things. She's forgotten her mother's smile, her father's laugh, the way Tiger's hand felt on her head as he guided her; the list goes on and on and on.

And it _hurts,_ not remembering some of the only good things in her life, but remembering, _snap, snap, snap, goes the whip_ and _“Smile, brat, or you’re next,”_ as one of her fellow slaves dies next to her.

She's forgotten a lot of things, but none of those things could have compared to losing the entirety of her first ten years.

She's always had a lot of sympathy for Sabo, knowing his first ten years - his entire childhood - just went _poof_ in one burst of fire. He's never really minded (or at least, he pretended not to mind. The way he always seems to reach to the side when asleep, trying to wrap an arm around presences that aren't there, which she tries to fill in but it's just _not enough_ says differently).

But, he’s always lived life as if it didn't matter - as if that hole inside him didn't bother him. Koala had always jokingly offered, "Here, let me give you a concussion, maybe that'll knock something loose."

Sabo would laugh, say, "No, thanks," and they'd move on with their day.

Now, watching her best friend clutch at his hair and sob on the hospital bed, she wishes she had tried to knock his memories loose.

"Koala..." Sabo's voice breaks on her name, and her heart clenches as he looks up, eyes teary and cheeks red with past tears.

Koala crosses the room quickly, sitting next to him, and gently wraps an arm around his shoulders. She tugs him closer, murmuring soft nothings in his ears. He doesn't seem to hear them, though; his hands are still clutching at his hair and sobs are still breaking through, shaking his whole body.

(God, Koala doesn't know how to help him. They've always been each other's support system, always been there for each other – soothing each other's nightmares and listening as they scream and cry their anger at the world, but this is a whole other beast.

After all, how do you scream at the beast if it's within you?)

"Koala," Sabo repeats, and she hums comfortingly as he leans into her. "How could I have forgotten?"

"Shhh," Koala hushes. "It wasn't your fault, Sabo-kun."

"Wasn't it?!" Sabo jerks his head up off her shoulder, and stares at her, eyes wild and full of tears. There's pain in them, so much pain, and Koala wishes she could take it away from him so, so bad. "I didn't even _try_ to remember! Ace is _dead!_ Luffy is _alone,_ and I didn’t even _try_ to remember them! How can I even call myself-"

"Sabo-kun," Koala cuts in. Sabo cuts off, and his eyes lose their focus, staring just past her shoulder as yet another memory flashes through his brain, looking right at her but not seeing her.

(God, Koala's glad, so glad he's got his memories back, but part of her wishes he could have continued to have forgotten, blissfully unaware of the pirate who died's relation to him.

At least, if that happened, her best friend wouldn't be in the seemingly-unending pain that he's in right now.)

She tries again, "Sabo-kun, you didn't choose to get shot at by a World Noble." (Part of her still shudders at the thought of those pieces of trash, but she forces that aside, focusing on her best friend.) "As much as I joked about trying to bring back your memories, Sabo-kun, there wasn't anything you could do."

"But-"

She cuts in, "No, Sabo-kun, no buts. If your brothers are anything like you – and I know you, you wouldn't have chosen anyone different to be your family – they would just be insanely happy that you're alive."

Sabo's looking at her, wide-eyed, and she continues, softly, "They wouldn't blame you, Sabo-kun. _You_ can't blame you. It wasn't your fault."

Sabo stares at her before letting out a wail, collapsing fully against her, and she just holds him, rocking him gently as he breaks apart.

"I wish I remembered. I _should_ have remembered," Sabo chokes out, and Koala simply holds him. There's not anything more she can do than do that (though she wishes she could do more (and god, it's been forever since she's felt this _powerless_ )).

She's forgotten a lot of things, Koala thinks as her best friend shudders against her.

But she's never going to forget the pain on her brother's face as he finally remembers what he has forgotten for the past ten years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (they're not all this sad I promise)


	2. dumb revolutionaries love each other very very much

“Hey Dragon, so I did the stuff you told me to-”

Dragon shushes Iva as they come into the room, and Iva cuts themself off, looking quizzically at Dragon. Dragon can tell the exact moment that they realize why Dragon told them to shut up, an uncharacteristic fondness forming on his face.

Dragon runs a hand through Sabo’s short hair, soothing him gently as he snores, head pillowed on Dragon’s thigh. They had been talking, discussing various strategies for a battle the Revolutionaries are looking to fight in the South Blue (even at 13 years old, Sabo is one of the smartest people Dragon knows).

The meeting had ended up lasting much longer than Dragon had anticipated, and Sabo, already exhausted from training for hours beforehand, slowly lost his battle against his tiredness. Dragon had startled at the weight of his head falling onto his shoulder, but soon enough, the same fondness Dragon can see on Iva’s face filled him as Sabo snored gently, completely at ease resting against the feared Leader of the Revolutionaries.

(It still surprises Dragon, sometimes, how much trust Sabo puts in him. From the very moment Dragon had saved him from that World Noble, Dragon’s been in awe at how easy it seemed for Sabo to have faith in him. Even with the missing memories, Dragon knows he’s not the easiest to trust, especially for a child.

(His abandonment of Luffy still stings.

He wishes things could have been different.)

Yet, Sabo had easily acclimated to the harsh environment of a Revolutionary ship and base – winning the hearts of everyone involved at the same time. Mischievous, kind, loyal – Sabo is all of those things, and he had showed that as early as the first month he had been on their ship, saving one of their men from drowning with an ease that shocked everyone on the ship.

Saving Sabo was possibly the best decision Dragon could have made that day.)

Iva draws him from his memories, coming over and sitting next to him, leaning against the same wall that Dragon rests against. “Tired, huh?” They say, gently running a hand over Sabo’s curls. Dragon nods, watching as Sabo’s brow furrows slightly at the contact before smoothing out. His trust in them is shown in that simple, unconscious reaction, and fierce fondness floods Dragon.

“Do you sometimes wish you had kids of your own?” Iva asks, still looking upon Sabo with a softness that is only ever aimed at Sabo. Dragon cuts Iva a look, knowing that only this soft moment allowed him to ask a question that personal.

“…no,” Dragon says, indulging his oldest friend.

(Dragon remembers holding Luffy, only hours old at that point yet having already experienced the loss of a mother. He remembers his bright, gummy smile, already so bright; so _happy._ He remembers his little fingers, holding onto Dragon’s one large one – remembers the feeling of falling in love with the one thing he could never keep.

No, he never wishes he had kids of his own. He already does, and it pains him so, so much that he can’t allow himself to be the father he could be, if only he could allow himself to be selfish.

But selfishness has no place in a revolution.)

Iva hums understandingly in response, and stands, walking towards the door. “I’ll tell everyone else not to bother you.”

Dragon nods in thanks, and Iva sends one fond look at the child on his lap before exiting the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Sabo shifts slightly, turning onto his side and clutching at Dragon’s coat. Dragon’s heart clenches, and he lightly lays his arm over Sabo’s shoulders.

Dragon was never allowed to care for the family he had. However, thinking about the family he has created – Iva, Kuma, Betty, Karasu, Sabo – maybe it doesn’t matter, after all.

Family doesn’t have to be born from blood; Dragon knows this. And, looking at the lost noble boy he found that day – looking at the son he somehow had the gift of finding and being able to hold, raise, keep – he thinks that maybe, just maybe, this could be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they are family,,,,, I love them


	3. dumb revolutionaries commit crimes and bicker (part 1/infinity)

“Hey, doesn’t that cloud look like a Pomeranian?”

Koala looks at her partner exasperatedly, gesturing wildly around her. “Is this _really_ the time, Sabo?” He glances around himself before grinning at her innocently as if saying, _yes, this is the perfect time!_

Koala considers her question perfectly valid, as they are currently surrounded by more than fifty marines ( _no, make that a hundred,_ Koala groans internally as another marine platoon arrives).

 _What a way to end our first mission,_ Koala thinks as she punches a marine that was unfortunate enough to make the fatal mistake of attacking her. She and Sabo have been partners for quite some time, but before this, the two 16-year-olds (Koala will vehemently deny that they’re the same age, she’s _six months_ older than him _,_ thank you very much) had been accompanied by someone else on their missions (normally Hack).

Sabo, who has absolutely _no_ sense of self-preservation, laughs wildly and says, “What better time than now?” He then spins and, dragging a marine by the ankle, swings the poor soul’s head into a series of other marines.

“How about _not_ when we’re under assault by over a hundred marines?!”

“But it’s more fun this way!” Koala sighs at the on-brand answer from her best friend, but can’t contain a fond smile as she takes out five marines at a time with a well-placed punch. _Yeah, this is pretty fun._

Sabo echoes her thoughts with another laugh as he steps back from the crowd of marines surrounding them, smirking and bringing his hands up in his trademarked dragon-claw shape.

“Koala, you might wanna get back,” he warns with a massive grin as he brings down his hands onto the concrete, and she sighs and jumps back out of the crossfire as the marines all pause in confusion.

 _Of course he would choose_ now _to debut this technique,_ Koala thinks exasperatedly as the marines all cry out as the shockwave takes them out. Sabo stands, cockily pushing his top-hat up with a finger, and she sighs as she walks up next to him. She promptly kicks the back of his knees, causing him to stagger.

Sabo pouts at her as he recovers his balance. “What was that for?” He whines as they start running yet again towards the docks.

“That’s for ruining what was supposed to be a _stealth_ mission, you dumbass!”

“It’s not my fault!” Koala scoffs, looking around at the devastation around her pointedly.

“Oh, so it’s _not_ your fault you tripped their alarm and called down over 100 marines on our heads?!”

Sabo laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and grinning sheepishly at her. “Okay, so maybe that was my fault?”

Koala sighs, but the fondness she feels overwhelms her soon enough and she laughs, smacking Sabo in the back and says, casually dodging bullets coming from behind them, “Well, it worked out – hopefully this doesn’t happen again.”

“You gotta admit it was pretty fun beating up all those marines, though,” Sabo says, grinning winningly at her. She punches him in the arm, but laughs in agreement as they reach the docks. They push off from the shore, yells and threats ringing behind them as they depart.

She sits and lays back on the boat, looking towards the sky. Tilting her head, she considers the shapes above her before grinning.

“You know, that one does kinda look like a Pomeranian,” She says consideringly, and Sabo laughs beside her, plopping down beside her and throwing an arm carelessly over her shoulder. She grins, leaning into her best friend.

 _Maybe ruining this mission wasn’t such a bad thing after all,_ she thinks, smiling and laughing along with her best friend as they argue over the shapes in the sky.

There’s nothing better than spending time with the ones that you love, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Koala and Sabo are the best siblings and you cannot change my mind (also, spoiler alert, it definitely happens again)


	4. dumb revolutionaries are dumb and greedy for food

Sabo glances at the table, jerking his head away from reaching for the sweet treat on the table, trying not think about it. He manages not to think about it for a grand total of twenty seconds, staring holes into his nails, before unwillingly side-eying it. He subtly, sneakily reaches a hand out.

Slowly…carefully…he’s _almost there_ …

Then, “No.”

“But-”

“No,” Koala repeats, not even looking up from her newspaper. Sabo pouts, looking longingly at the cake on the table as if he could will it over to him if he looked at it long enough. Telekinesis should be possible in a world like the one they live in, right?

… _Wrong,_ Sabo thinks, pouting even more at the stubborn stillness of the cake, sadly still a couple yards away from him.

Koala gives him an unimpressed look over her newspaper, glasses on the tip of her nose as she stares at him. “Are you really trying to will the cake over to you with your mind?”

“Hey, you never know if you don’t try!” He grins at her innocently, and Koala scoffs before returning to her reading. He returns to staring holes into the cake.

The cake’s so close – he can almost _taste_ it, sweet and delicious. He scowls, crossing his arms and glaring into the side of Koala’s head from the corners of his eyes, hoping she can feel his ire.

Koala sighs, setting her newspaper beside before giving Sabo an unimpressed stare. “You do know this cake is for _Hack,_ not you, right? And you do realize that he’s not even here right now? You do understand that you can’t just start eating a birthday cake without the person who it’s meant for, right?”

“That never stopped me and my brothers before…” Sabo mumbles petulantly, looking at the ground.

“You and your brothers were little gremlins, and you definitely still are. It amazes how you’re able to act so polite sometimes while being like…this. And no, before you ask, you can’t even have a bite.”

Point made, Koala picks up the newspaper again, flipping to the next page and saying offhandedly, “If you do, I’ll tell Hack and you won’t get _any_ of the rest of the cake.” Sabo gasps in dismay, and Koala simply smirks at him before ignoring him, hiding her face with the newspaper.

Sabo scowls, crossing his arms and glaring at the ground, defeated.

Jerk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sabo is so dumb I love him so much


	5. dumb revolutionaries pull dumb pranks

“Are you _sure_ this is a good idea?”

Sabo grins at her, and she knows before he even speaks that he’s going to say something cheeky. Or stupid.

Or both.

(Like always.)

She doesn’t even know _why_ she’s asking Sabo this – to Sabo, a “good idea” is breaking into a heavily-armed castle on his own, or not sleeping for three days, or punching a CP agent while they’re undercover because, “My principles, Koala! I have to stand up for them!”

Or, apparently, dumping a bucket of water on the Most Wanted Man in the World as a prank.

Sabo says cheekily, like she knew he would, “Of course, it is! You’re the one who wanted to see what Dragon-san would look like when he’s surprised!”

“Yeah, from, like, sneaking up on him! Or Iva-san popping up from out of nowhere like she does! Or, I don’t know, anything _but_ dumping a bucket of water on our boss?”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Koala sighs exasperatedly, but follows her best friend, climbing carefully up into the attic (which Baltigo somehow has? Koala doesn’t even want to know why it was created – there’s nothing stored up here, so she has absolutely no idea).

(Sabo theorizes ghosts live there. Koala hates that she doesn’t have the evidence necessary to convince him otherwise.)

They crawl along the ground, lugging the bucket of water behind them and coughing violently at the dust knocked up (and shushing each other viciously in response, causing them to cough a lot more – it’s a harsh cycle, really).

Finally, they arrive at Dragon’s office, and Sabo pushes a finger against his lips (she rolls her eyes – _really?_ Sabo – the one who always gets them caught when they try eavesdropping on Commander meetings – is the one telling _her_ to be quiet?)

Dragon is sitting quietly at his desk, seemingly reading a book (god, she hopes the water doesn’t ruin the book – she might _actually_ get killed if that happens), and Sabo counts to three under his breath before shoving the bucket over, sending water cascading over the edge.

The stream of water hits Dragon right on top of the head, splashing over his face and drenching him and the area behind him.

Dragon sits there silently for a moment, and Koala has a moment of, _oh, fuck. We’ve really done it now._ Then, he brings a hand up slowly and wipes the water off of his eyes, flicking it to the side. He carefully sets the somehow-not-soaked book off to the side, and tilts his head up.

Koala braces herself to be screamed at (although Dragon really isn’t known to yell – then again, there’s a first time for everything) – but is surprised when Dragon simply chuckles, shaking his hair out.

“A solid 7/10 – Sabo, your aim could be a little better.”

Koala jerks forward in shock, almost falling through the opening in the ceiling, and blurts out, “You’re not even mad?!”

Dragon shakes his head, smirking up at them. He says simply, “I let you do it.”

Sabo sticks his head further down through the opening (Koala idly considers shoving him out the hole – his butt is a tempting target for her foot). “How did you even know?!”

“I heard Koala shushing you as you crawled towards here. Evidently, I need to increase your stealth training.”

Koala groans, facepalming as Sabo turns slowly towards her, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Oh, so I’m the loud one, huh?”

He’s obviously asking for it, so she kicks him in the ass, causing him to tumble to the floor.

His squawk in response is sweet, sweet vindication.

Dragon stifles a laugh as Sabo scowls up at her from on top of the now-crushed desk (whoops), and she gives him an innocent grin as she drops down gracefully beside him.

He deserved it, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dragon is their dad No I Do Not Accept Criticism


	6. dumb revolutionaries cause a lot of property damage (part 1/infinity)

“…Why do you have a mini-sword in your room?”

Koala rolls her eyes, swiping her letter opener from Sabo’s hands, leaving him standing there, hands still held out in front of him, a mildly bemused look on his face.

“It’s a _letter opener_. What, you’ve never seen one of those before?” Sabo shrugs slightly, still staring at the letter opener that she’s now placing where he found it – and seriously, when will he stop touching her stuff?

She sighs. _Never, probably._

Sabo says, frowning, “I’ve seen them before, but never like that. They would never-” Sabo cuts himself off, frustrated confusion twisting his face, and Koala feels a pang of sympathy.

He’s always had moments like this – flashes of memory; little, inconsequential things that come and go with the wind, and it drives him absolutely crazy.

(The worst time was when he saw a fire and absolutely panicked, jerking away and biting back a scream – that one, she could figure out pretty quickly where it came from.

It’s hard to miss the scars coating his left side, after all.)

Sabo shakes his head quickly – evidently clearing the thoughts from his mind (the frustration isn’t as easy to shake for him, though, she can tell). He then eyes the letter openers contemplatively, and Koala feels apprehension fill her at the sight of the wide grin that his lips twist up into.

That grin never means anything good – the last time she saw it, Sabo decided it would be a great idea to mouth off to a Marine official (while he had a _broken arm_ , mind you!) and start a manhunt.

Of course, she had to save his ass (like always).

Sabo grabs the letter openers, and she curses as he tosses one at her, scrambling to catch it without stabbing herself on the edge (which isn’t that sharp, admittedly, but it’s the principle of the thing!)

“En garde!” Sabo says in the most dramatic voice possible, dropping into a low stance and gripping the letter opener as if it is a sword. Koala gives him an unimpressed look, glancing from the “sword” in his hands to the way he’s eyeing hers, like it’s a weapon he can’t take his eyes off of if he wants to live.

 _Oh my god, he’s_ serious _._

Koala gives Sabo her best deadpan stare – she’s not sure why, exactly, she thought it might help, this look always seemed to convince him whatever he’s thinking is a good idea – and says, “You want us to swordfight. With _letter_ openers.”

“Yeah! It’ll be fun, c’mon!”

Sabo looks so gleeful, and Koala feels fondness fill her despite herself. Those memory flashes sometimes cause him to become withdrawn, but she’s glad it doesn’t seem to have caused that now.

…Plus, sword fighting with these is the kind of ridiculous idea that actually sounds fun in a _fun_ way, and not in a dangerous way.

She grins, and Sabo lights up as she grips her “sword” and lunges in at him, and he jumps back, barely avoiding knocking over the lamp next to her bed.

(The end result: They do end up destroying her lamp (and window, and chair, and one of her bedposts…)

She’s bruised and worn out, because heaven forbid any activity she and Sabo do end up as anything less than violent, but she doesn’t regret anything.

Sabo was right. It was fun.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will I ever tire of writing these dumbass siblings? no


	7. dumb revolutionaries have dumb conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm....sorry

“Hey, Koala, remember that one phase we had when we were younger?”

Koala glances up with trepidation at her best friend – who has a shit-eating grin on his face. _Great,_ Koala sighs internally, _that never means anything good._

She puts her book down and raises her eyebrows at Sabo. “We had many phases, Sabo, which one are you talking about?”

“Oh, you know,” Sabo says, his grin getting even wider, if that’s even possible. “Thiws owne.”

“No.” Koala stands up and walks directly towards the door. “No, I refuse.”

“Whawt? Uwu down't wike thiws?” Sabo continues, and _goddamnit_ she did _not_ need to be reminded of this period of her life.

Koala determinedly strides out of the door, but sadly, her _bitch_ of a partner follows, shit-eating grin ever present and cursed aura firmly emanating from him. “I refuse!” Koala calls over her shoulder, breaking into a jog as Sabo _insists_ on following her.

“Uwu cannot escape! Uwus awe etewnaw!”

“Never!” Koala yells, yanking open the first door that she comes across and barging in, locking Sabo outside as she falls against the door, panting.

She glances up to see whoever she barged in on (prepared to apologize – though she’s _really_ not sorry, she _needed_ to get away from Sabo).

Dragon is staring at her with his normal blank stare, and she gulps slightly as he stares her down. Koala readies herself to apologize when her boss opens his mouth.

“Whawt seems tuwu be the pwobwem hewe?”

Koala stares at Dragon for a second, mind short-circuiting before she says, “Nope. Just…nope,” and walks out of the room.

She ignores Sabo as he tries to talk to her and goes into her room, closing the door and collapsing into it, falling down and staring at the wall in front of her.

_Why._

_Just why._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let it be known that this was inspired by two of my dear discord friends speaking in nothing but uwu voices for hours and I take no responsibility


	8. dumb revolutionaries realize sabo is a boy of many talents (and that dragon is just as bad at plans as his kid)

“Alright, Sabo, you can sit in on this – but _please_ actually pay attention, you can’t just fall asleep like you do in class.”

Sabo nods rapidly, bright-eyed, bouncing slightly on his toes as Ivankov sighs, opening the door to the meeting room. Sabo’s been doing very well in his classes thus far (disregarding the whole “falling asleep in class and causing a ruckus” issue), so Ivankov isn’t that surprised Dragon decided to invite him into one of their strategy meetings.

…Okay, that’s a lie. Sabo’s _eleven_ , Ivankov would be surprised if he managed to contribute much.

At least he’s guaranteed to learn a lot. Sabo is the future of the Revolutionary Army, after all. It’s important he learns these things eventually.

They enter the room, and Sabo gravitates to the seat at the corner of the table, obviously left open for him as Ivankov goes to her normal seat on Dragon’s right side. They’re the last to arrive, and once they’re settled, all eyes fall expectantly on their leader.

Dragon straightens his papers, looks up over his glasses, managing to look somewhat professional even though Ivankov _knows_ he’s gotten a grand total of three hours of sleep in the past five days. He says, “Riot at Bell Square, three days, no sleepy.”

… _What?_

Dragon sits back in his chair and looks expectantly at them, like those eight words are somehow reflective of _whatever_ plan he has bouncing around in that mind of his.

(Assuming he actually has a plan and isn’t just saying shit – that would also be par for the course, for Dragon.)

“Dragon,” Ivankov begins, speaking slowly, as if she’s talking to a little kid because _clearly_ Dragon needs it. “You’ve got to know that is nowhere near enough information to constitute an idea, nevertheless a full plan.”

Inazuma, next to Ivankov, buries her face in her hands and mumbles, “ _Why_. Why do these meetings always go like this.” Everyone in the room nods their agreement, groaning or sighing in annoyance. Of course, their wonderfully charismatic, inspiring, powerful leader has to be the absolute _worst_ at making plans.

Well, almost everyone in the room is annoyed – Sabo is staring at the wall, either thinking or zoning out.

Ivankov bets it’s the latter.

“Oh!” Sabo pipes up. He shrinks back slightly as attention turns towards him, but says hesitantly, “Haven’t there been a lot of issues arising at Bell Square recently?”

Ivankov nods slowly, “Yes, that has been happening.” _I guess he was paying attention._

Sabo continues, confidence rising and leaning forward eagerly, “Then, I think Dragon-san is saying that the situation is worsening there, and that we need to evacuate everyone before starting a riot there. All of this has to happen within three days, otherwise things are going to boil over and we won’t be able to stop more harm from being dealt.”

The room falls silent. All eyes turn to stare at Sabo, who hunches in a little bit and says, voice small, “At least, that’s what I got from that?”

As one, the room shifts their attention to Dragon, who says, a small, proud smile on his face, “Yes, that’s exactly what I meant.”

Well that was… _unexpected_.

“Oh, also, we need to take out the king,” Sabo says nonchalantly, and Ivankov’s brain finally short-circuits as Dragon nods in agreement, a pleased smile on his face.

…What the _fuck_.

“How the hell did you get _that_ out of what Dragon said?!” Ivankov yells, standing up and pointing at Sabo. Yes, she knows she’s being dramatic. No, she doesn’t care.

“See? I told you my plans were enough.” Dragon says, looking at Ivankov defiantly.

_I am going to punch him._

Ivankov bursts out, “Just because one – _one_! – singular person can understand your mockeries of plans does _not_ mean they’re good, Dragon!” Vindication floods through her as everyone nods in agreement.

“Well, Sabo got it, so clearly they have enough information!”

“That just means that somehow Sabo is on the same wavelength as you – that is, a wavelength of vagueness and bad plans.” Ivankov then spins towards where Sabo is watching, a somewhat confused look on his face as he watches the chaos. “Yet, _somehow_ , Sabo can actually parse your plans and give us something to work with!”

Ivankov makes a sudden decision, and points at Sabo, saying firmly, “You must come to everything.” Like hell she’s going to miss the chance to have a built-in Dragon-translator when she’s had to struggle with his non-plans for _years_.

Sabo looks at her, shock all she can see on his face, before his lips split into a wide grin, and he says, “Yes! I will do my best!”

Ivankov nods, satisfied, and sits as they continue the meeting – which is a lot easier now that they actually know what Dragon is talking about.

Still, she wonders how the hell Sabo was able to figure out what Dragon was saying.

…Must be a Dawn Island thing.

(Ten years later, she will smash her head against a table, marveling at how much _sense_ it makes.)

(Of course, Sabo could understand, he’s practically Dragon’s kid.)

(Fucking Monkey D.s and their honorary family.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dragon is definitely just as much of a dumbass as his kid and dad and I love him for it


	9. dumb revolutionaries have deep conversations (relatedly, I cry)

“Hack?”

Hack cracks his eyes open, rubbing his eyes and groggily sitting up, peering at the door. Sabo stands in the doorway, looking down and scuffing his feet.

He says, more tentative than Hack has ever heard him be, “Can I stay with you for a little while?”

Hack nods immediately and Sabo’s shoulders _slump_ , relief emanating from his every movement as he slowly pads over and nervously settles on the edge of Hack’s bed. Sabo, ten years old, barely recovered from the hellish recovery from his burns, still reeling from the loss of _ten years_ of his memory, is sitting on the side of his bed, shaking, and Hack doesn’t know how to deal with this.

(One year into their friendship, and the one thing Hack knows about this kid is that he hides. Hides his sadness, hides his emotion, hides wishes, and dreams, and his lack of memories. His fears.

For him to be this blatantly reaching out, this blatantly _afraid_ , whatever happened must be bad.)

Hack gently places a hand on Sabo’s shoulder, and the fact that he jumps slightly just shows how out of it he is. “What’s wrong?” He asks, gentle, and Sabo shudders, looking down at the ground and gripping the edge of the bed, the backs of his hands going white from strain.

“I just…” Sabo cuts off, frustration threading through his tone. Hack waits, patient, as Sabo collects his thoughts and continues, “I just…my memories are gone, I _know_ that, but sometimes things just…flash through my brain and I can’t control it and it’s so _frustrating_.” Hack hums in understanding, and Sabo bites his lip, seeming to want to say something, but not knowing _how_.

Hack knows the feeling.

“Today was fire,” Sabo whispers, bringing a band up and desperately gripping at the hand Hack has yet to remove from his shoulder. Hack turns his hand over to let Sabo twine his fingers through Hack’s, and he immediately grips tightly at it. “It’s not clear…all I can see is it swallowing me up; swallowing _everyone_ up…and I can’t stop it. I can’t _protect_ -”

Sabo’s voice breaks, and Hack shifts so that he can wrap a gentle arm around Sabo’s shoulder, and Sabo immediately collapses into him, a sob welling out of his throat. Hack hums gently as Sabo shudders against him, heart clenching at the small hands clutching at his shirt.

(He’s too small, too _young_ to have gone through this much, this early.

Life has a way of destroying the young and only leaving the bold, brave, _strong_ standing.)

“I can’t promise that these memories won’t haunt you,” Hack says, gentle, and Sabo sniffs, peering up at him through his tear-laden lashes, and Hack wishes, so much, that he could take that pain away from him.

He can’t.

But, there is one thing he can promise.

“And I can’t promise that you won’t go through pain like this again – however much I wish I could. I can, however, promise that you’ll never be alone.” Sabo looks up at him, pulling away slightly, and Hack puts as much compassion into his smile as he can. A small smile peaks through the tears as Hack continues, “You’ll always have us. I can promise that much. We won’t ever let you suffer through this alone.”

Sabo stares into Hack’s eyes for a moment, as if testing him; testing his truthfulness, and there is nothing but honesty in Hack’s heart. Sabo seems to realize that and relaxes fully, leaning back into Hack and gripping his shirt again, but there’s a small smile curving against his ribs, and Hack smiles and counts that as a victory.

“Thanks,” Sabo mumbles into his chest, and Hack chuckles softly, rubbing gently into Sabo’s back.

“Anytime,” He says, and means it. He’ll do anything for those he cares about.

Anything for his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will I never not cry about sabo's lost memories and how he might flash back to them while they're still gone? nope


	10. dumb revolutionaries realize sabo is more dumb than they thought (which should be impossible)

“Hey, Koala, wanna do something fun?”

Sabo keeps a straight face, but snickers internally at the immediate wariness on his best friend’s face. He’s not even wearing his typical shit-eating grin – she shouldn’t be giving him that _I know you’re up to something and I don’t like it_ face.

(Okay, maybe he should expect this. She knows him too well.)

“‘Fun’ for you is breaking into a castle and punching the king,” Koala says dryly, not even looking up at him and turning a page of her book. “I don’t want anything to do with it.”

“Hey,” Sabo protests, no longer able to keep his grin off of his face. “You like punching bastard rulers as much as I do! You can’t blame me for that!”

Koala sighs long-sufferingly, but Sabo grins in victory as Koala finally puts her book down, turning her full, exasperated attention to him.

“What do you want to do?”

Sabo grins. “You ever heard of a dine-and-dash?”

\----------------------------------------------------------------

“I _cannot_ believe we’re doing this.” Sabo snickers as Koala repeats herself for the third time, running alongside him through the town.

He laughs, “C’mon, it’ll be fun! You’ll see!”

“Seriously, it’s like you were raised by _wolves_ ,” Koala adds exasperatedly. “How did you even hear about this anyways?”

Sabo shrugs, grinning innocently at his best friend. “Just thought of it!”

“There’s no way you just _thought_ of it!”

“I saw a great, big, _rich_ restauraunt – how could I not think of something like this?!”

“I dunno, normal people don’t normally see a restaurant and think, _hey, I should eat in this place and rob it_! That’s just stupidity!”

“Since when have I ever been normal or smart?”

Koala sighs in frustration and doesn’t respond, and Sabo takes his victory with grace.

By shoulder-bumping Koala and snickering when she glares at him.

He deftly avoids her stuck-out leg and skids to a stop in front of the largest restaurant in town, and grins at his best friend. “You ready?”

Koala sighs, but Sabo knows her – that spark in her eyes and excited smile tugging at the corners of her lips betray her excitement as his wide grin and impatient jittering betray his. “Let’s get this over with,” she says, and Sabo grins before slipping an arm around her waist and bringing up his fake-noble mannerisms.

They have a restaurant to fuck up.

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Kuma stands, cross-armed, and stares at the two teenagers, covered in food and sweat, laughing as they run back to the Revolutionary Army’s temporary base before clamming up and standing up straight. They attempt to wipe the grins off their faces, but they can’t quite get rid of Sabo’s slight smirk and Koala’s bright eyes and lingering laughs.

He doesn’t wish to take the smiles off of their faces, but.

“What have you two been doing?” He asks firmly, and the two troublemakers share a mildly guilty grin before Sabo laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Sabo says, “We…might have just caused a restaurant to be burnt down? That started with a dine-and-dash?”

Koala elbows him viciously in the side and hisses something like, _there are better ways of putting that!_ Kuma can’t help but disagree with that, and he stares at the two, deadpan stare causing the both to clam up slightly.

“Just once, can we leave an island without you two causing _some_ sort of trouble?” He asks, slight exasperation threading through his tone, despite himself. The two teens attempt to look repentant, but Kuma sighs, seeing right through them.

(Whatever. They’re happy – and for two kids that have seen the worst that the world has to offer, yet keep throwing themselves at it headfirst for the sake of others, well. Who is he to take this happiness away from them?

Plus, it’s not like it’s his mess to clean up.)

Kuma jerks a hand over his shoulder, saying, “Go get cleaned up.” Sabo and Koala share a surprised look before grinning, yelling thanks over their shoulders as they run past him. Kuma turns and watches them go, lingering echoes of their laughter ringing around him.

It’s nice seeing them this happy, happy smiles and bright eyes all anyone can see if they look at the two kids.

Kuma smiles.

He wishes they’ll always have those smiles on their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if oda won't give me the revolutionary family content I crave then i'll just create it myself


	11. dumb revolutionaries are fambly :’)))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so like my ASL ficlet collection this is my last of my Revolutionary ficlets that I've written so far - I will be writing more at some point, but I have no idea when since I'm working on a couple bigger projects.
> 
> Thanks, and hope you enjoy!

“Kuma’s back! Help him unload!”

Kuma sighs slightly, watching as his comrades board the ship he had just departed, quickly and efficiently unloading the supplies Kuma had brought back after his mission. He had been away for a couple months this time – it isn’t easy, playing the role of heartless pirate and mixing with the very worst of the world government, but he manages.

He has to. He’s the only one that can.

Sabo pokes his head around the corner, and Kuma’s lips turn into an affectionate smile as Sabo _lights up_ , yelling something over his shoulder before rounding the corner and sprinting towards Kuma. Koala skids around the corner as well, beaming as she catches sight of Kuma.

She catches up to Sabo as he barrels into Kuma, two small bodies colliding with him and throwing their arms around him (or as far around him as they’ll go, anyway).

Kuma chuckles, wrapping an arm around each of them. Fondness floods through him as they nuzzle as close to him as possible, uncaring of the hard, cold metal that now makes up Kuma’s chest.

(It still shocks him, sometimes, how kind these kids are, how _accepting_ they are of who he’s become. He’s a warlord – part of the system that had taken Koala’s freedom for years; that had ripped Sabo’s identity and childhood away from him. He’s part of the very worst of the world, yet they don’t care.

They only care about the way he would train them, push them harder than he’s ever pushed anyone before; the stories he tells them of his journeys; the way he used to rub their backs gently and provide a shoulder to cry on when their memories (or lack thereof) overwhelmed them.

All Sabo and Koala care about is _him_.

They accept him, for all he is and for all he’s going to become.

(They love him, even though he will be leaving them, sooner rather than later.))

Sabo leans back first, giving Kuma a bright grin and saying, “Hi, Kuma!”

Kuma laughs fondly, ruffling the teen’s hair and saying, “Hello, Sabo. Been training hard?”

“Been causing trouble, more like,” Koala interjects, leaning away from Kuma and giving Sabo a look.

Sabo rounds on Koala, saying, “Like you haven’t been causing just as much!”

“Ex _cuse_ me?! I wasn’t the one that broke into a marine base _on my own_ – running through no-man’s-land while at it, might I add – and brought the whole thing crashing down!”

“It _worked_ , I don’t know what you’re complaining about!”

Kuma lets out a chuckle, cutting off the two, and they look up at him when he places a hand on each of their heads, steering them towards the entrance to the base. He says, “Well, it sounds like you two have plenty of stories to tell me. Why don’t you tell me about them?”

Koala and Sabo _beam_ , and Kuma smiles softly, secretly, as his two favorite troublemakers start regaling him about the trouble they’ve gotten into. There’s no mention of his newly-metal arms, no mention of the dark circles under his eyes, no mention of his slumped shoulders and slightly-wan smile.

All that’s there is acceptance, and pure, pure happiness to have him back.

Kuma smiles.

He really is lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen I have many feelings about kuma okay


End file.
